the hawaii governor josh green joins us this hour with an update on the crisis, and urgent evacuation. also a proposed january 2nd trial date. the special counsel's team hoping to start the trial just ahead of the january 6th anniversary and first republican presidential contest. and americans released from a notorious prison in iran. five wrongfully held u.s. citizens now under house arrest in a potential step toward freedom. we're learning more about why they were moved and how it could wind up helping iran. welcome to our viewer here in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." let's get right to the wildfire disasters in hawaii right now. it's now killed at least 36 people. the death toll expected to keep climbing as prime tourist havens become charred ruins. let's go to derek van dam, who just filed this report. >> reporter: tonight fires on the island of maui continuing to burn out of control, as new federal help is now being goods patched amid unprecedented whyspread destruction. seems like this becoming more common. businesses melted, historical sites gone. homes reduced to ash and smoke. at least three dozen people have died. hospitals are overwhelmed. officials say hundreds of families are displaced. >> everybody in our naked lost everybody. mark stepple's home is gone as much of the tourist destination and hub. he made a harrowing heartbreaking escape. >> we ran downstairs, and we lost a cat and a dog because of confusion. the fire just engulfed our house. >> reporter: officials say winds associated with hurricane dora helped fuel the fires that have now impacted more than 250 structures in lahaina, plus hawaii's big island. these before-and-after images near a beach resort are staggering. same with this stretch of beach, where a number of buildings are simply gone. today president joe biden approving a disaster declaringation for hawaii, providing federal financial assistance. the pentagon now activating more than 100 national guardsmen to help in the response. >> anyone who lost a loved one or their homes destroyed will get help immediately. >> everything that we know, in all my 50 years of life, is completely burned to the ground. >> reporter: today residents and tourists alike finding refuge in a honolulu convention center. >> we just had to outrun a fire. >> reporter: residents look at the month mental task ahead. it's a loss of our entire community, our town that we've known it to be for generations. it's completely devastating. we are shook to our core. >> reporter: as severe drought conditions to continue to intensify in maui county, there is science-backed research that attributes our wildfires to a changing climate. 90% of hawaii is actually seeing less rainfall than a century ago. the fingerprints of climate change written all over this story. >> indeed. let's go to maui. veronica miracle is on the scene for us. what are you seeing and what are you hearing? wolf, absolute devastation on the ground. this group of volunteers have come together in the last hours. they put out a call asking people to bring donation and people have been coming in droves. they plaque a boat and trailer to the brim. it's already on its way to those stuck in lahaina. and another trailer will be on its way soon. the people had firsthand accounts. others actually experienced the devastation themselves. one man i just spoke with escaped the flames. he lost his house, lost his car, barely got out with his life. take a listen. >> there's more than 36 people that didn't make it. i tried to warn as many people as i could. there was a lot of people. it was so chaotic. there were no phone connections, as much as i was trying to save, there were no options, they just had to go. i went in and got my kids. we were stuck, and now i got the news so many friends that -- i don't think they made it. >> reporter: that's just one story, there are many, and they're absolutely heartbreaking the numbers are staggering. right now 36 people reported dead. as we know, there are more feared to be dead. the coast guard saying they had to rescue 250 people from the ocean, those who jumped in trying to escape the flames. more than 11,000 people remain without power. that's why the boat shipments and trailers heading to them, they are so critical right now, as people are just trying to survive. wolf? >> our hearts go out to all those families. veronica, thank you very much. let's get as update from governor josh green. he's joining us from maui. thank you for taking a moment to update our viewers in the u.s. and around the world. i know you toured one of the most devastated parts of maui. what are you seeing on the ground there? >> aloha, wolf. in fact i'm walking on front street in lahaina, talking to a satellite phone with you. there's no doubt everyone would describe it as if a bomb hit lahaina. it looks like total devastation, buildings that we have all enjoy and celebrated together for dec decades, for generations, are completely destroyed, and i mean mold ser still. some church, some stones are still up. we're grateful to the president. he was very generous already with us, providing support through fema. but it is destroyed. we will have hundreds of families displaced. we'll begin to recover soon. first we'll find out the extent of the loss of life. >> we'll get to that in a moment. i know you had a conversation with president biden earlier today. how soon under his federal disaster aid actually starts making a real difference in hawaii? and where is it needed most right now, governor? >> well, it's made a difference in our spirit already this morning, knowing we'll have resources for displaced families. that's a big deal. it could be days before we see resource come for the many families that need help. it's more time for insurance to kick in, which we'll also be advocating for. we are standing with the leadership of fema, they're already on the ground. we're grateful for them. we had our leadership teams of about 80 people today preparing the strategy we have to put in place to get or people well again. it only too six hours for president biden to approve or emergency request, just six hours. i signed the order at governor about ten minutes after midnight. by 6:20 in the morning, he was already calling and saying yesterday. we're grateful for that kind of just really thoughtful response for our state. >> earlier today, governor, the authorities reported 36 people in hawaii have been killed in this disaster. is that the most recent number you have as well? >> the number is higher, wolf. i have to share and tragically we'll be releasing new number about 3:30 hawaii time today. we are only now getting some of our search-and-rescue personnel into other houses. there are helicopters floating around the community right now. that number will go up very significantly. our hearts are out to all the families. we haven't had a loss of life instance like this for many years. in hawaii statehood which began in 1959, we only had two events with more fatalities. in 1960 we had 61 fatalities when a large wave came through the big island. this time, very likely or death totals will meet that. >> i want to follow up on that point, governor. i know you're going to announce formally, but what is the latest number you have now that you can share with us? >> well, out of respect to the mayor, it's about 20% higher already. i'm cautious, because they are right now making sure we don't duplicate any casualties. one of things we always learn as an emergency room figures, we don't want to say anything that makes more panic, but as we get into more houses that were overwhelmed, we have great concerns that we'll find people that weren't able to escape. our teams are working diligently. it is a challenging place, because we don't have a lot of resources in some cases, whether it's health care or mortuary resources. we're careful about that. i'll tell you, by the time this disaster is all described, i'm sure there will be dozens of people that lost their lives, and billions of property that was destroyed. we just thank everyone on the mainland for support. >> we're with you, governor every step of the way. how many people are in shelters in hawaii right now? and how many are unaccounted for? do you have those numbers? >> i do. it was over 2,000 people at points in shelters or at the airport. what we're doing right now is telling people if they don't need to be in maui, that we ask them to be in other parts of hawaii. we had over 2,000 people at one point, i believe, sheltered. as you reported earlier, over 11,000 people are without power right now on west maui. gradually we will find permanent housing for individuals, but that will be one of our largest lifts. interestingly we're already under an emergency order because our team is trying to build housing because of the shortage in our state, and now it's worse. it looked to be make up to 1700 buildings destroyed. our initial counts were 300 range, but having just walked the full length of front street, our eyes are watering from the smoke still, you can imagine how many other people are still displaced and that we haven't accounted for. >> we know the fire in lahaina we're told about 80% contained. governor, how long will it be under all fires are under control? >> the fire is very well controlled in lahaina now. we just walked the full extent of it. it was described -- [ inaudible ] -- it's really heroic effort of the firefighters on maui that fought this. [ inaudible ] i believe -- they were working hard, but it looks to be -- no winds -- from -- from -- [ inaudible ] -- although. >> we're losing that connection, governor, which is understandable given what's going on in hawaii right now. we want to just thank you so much for spending a few moments with us. good luck to you, good luck to all the people of hawaii. we're with you every step of the way. thank you so much for joining us. >> can i say one last thing? >> please. >> if people want to support hawaii, go to the hawaiian community foundation. the hawaiian community foundation is raising money for the recovery. it's the most reputable in hawaii -- and a lot of people will be helped. >> i just want to also share with our viewers, some information we have here at cnn how you, our viewers with help. go to cnn.com/impact, or text hawaii to 707070 to donate. really important. if you can do that, everybody we're grateful. governor josh green, thank show so much for joining us. we'll continue to check in. sadly, the story is not going away. just ahead, other news we're following, the special counsel reveals his preferred start date for donald trump's election subversion trial. will the judge agree to try the former president's case just before the first republican primary ked ex? we'll be right back. 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[sfx: phone ping] ♪ what? tween milestones like this... may start at age 9. hpv vaccination, a type of cancer prevention... against certain hpv-related cancers... can start then too. for most people, hpv clears on its own. but for others, it can cause certain cancers later in life. embrace this phase. help protect them in the next. starting at age 9, talk to your child's doctor about... hpv vaccination. bug spray works best... when your family actually wears it. ♪ get odor-free eight hour protection from mosquitoes and ticks without the ick. zevo on-body repellent. people love it. bugs hate it. there's never a dull moment for the nelsons'... fifth generation montana ranchers. since 1868, they've been... move! herding cattle, reeling in trout, and exploring paradise valley from their backyard. here's to another 150 years of adventure. there's a story in every piece of land. run with us on a john deere gator xuv and start telling yours. the special counsel jack smith is looking to moving very, very quickly in his 2020 election subversion case against donald trump, asking a federal judge to start the trial on january 2nd of next year. our senior legal affairs corr correspondent paula reid joins us now. we also understand how long he expects the government to start presenting his case. >> they want this case to start first thing, and it will take about four to six weeks. the special counsel argues this would vindicate the public interest in a speedy trial, but this would also come during the first two months of an election year during a critical time for any candidate when primary voting for republicans will begin. if he was to be on trial, that would mean trump, the candidate, would be spending most of his weekdays likely in a courtroom. there's another wrinkle. the special counsel has revealed there's at least some classified evidence in this case. that's significant. that could potentially delay this just a little bill. the special counsel insists even with that evidence, they're still on track to begin january 2nd next year, but the defense attorneys also have a chance to weigh in, and they expect they'll likely ask to delay this until after the 2024 election. all of this will be sorted out, that would supposed to be the first hearing, but in fact we'll all by in court tomorrow for the first hearing, as the judge hears arguments on how sensitive evidence in this case will be handled. >> it's very important. we'll cover that, obviously. in the other case brought by the special counsel over classified documents in mar-a-lago, we saw both trump's companies defendants in court. >> they were both in court, only one was arraigned. walt nauta pleaded not guilty, but the other codefendant car log de oliveira was not arraigned, because he doesn't are a florida attorney. we're told by florida defense attorneys that there are concerns about going paid and it's fraught with concerns. and of course, all of these problems about retaining counsel also had the added impact, and for them, a benefit of delaying here and there, and that all adds up. paula, stay with us. i also want to bring in eli hoenig. the special counsel wants to start this on january 2nd. what kind of complications would there be starting then? >> wolf, that's an extraordinarily aggressive ask by the team at doj. first of all, what doj has asked for is a trial date starting in early january with jury selection to start in mid december. that means the trump team would have about four months to get ready for tile. it's virtually unheard you have to have any conspiracy trial go anywhere near that quickly. at a minimum, a case like that in a federal system would typically take a year to a year and a half. on the back end, as paula noted, even if this tay two to three months to try in january, they'll run right into and perhaps over the current march start date for the hush money trial scheduled here in new york. so something has to gift one way or another. >> yeah, something has to give clearly. elliott, it's interesting, the iowa caucuses as you know are scheduled for january 15th. is that something the judge will fact aror? >> the judge can factor in, but it's sort of irrelevant to the ultimate outcome of the trial. look, there's points along the way, to back up thence that elie was saying. that only leaves ten working days from the time the trial starts until the holidays begin. that's just not a lot of time to pick a jury in a matter this sensitive. the judge can factor in things like the iowa caucuses, but look, this is going to be a long process that's going to stretch, if it starts in january probably into the spring. the way caucuses aren't the only matter. >> you're absolutely right. paula, as we learn today, the nine michigan so-called fake electors were actually arraigned on felony charges today. how difficult could this case end up being for the prosecutors to prove? >> it's a fascinating case, a first of its kind. you have six michigan republicans who have been charged for felonies for their role in the fake elector scheme, to help turn over the election. and they are going to challenge this as a novel issue, because it's such an unprecedented case. >> we will watch it, of course, guys, thank you very much. coming up, at least four republican candidates have signed the party's so-called loyalty pledge, despite donald trump's refusal to say he'll support the eventual nominee. first, we go back live to hawaii to hear the harrowing firsthand accounts of the wildfire survivors that shot this terrifying video. stay with us, you're in "the situation room." i'll be taking meetings... with family and friends. and chececking voicemail... as my activities permit. i'll connect with you... after reconnecting with me. ♪ get 1.9% apr for 36 months plus $1,500 purchase allowance on a 2024 xt5 and xt6 when you finance through cadillac financial. ♪ if you strgle. ♪ and struggle. ♪ and struggle with cpap. you should check out inspire. ♪ no mask. no hose. just sleep. inspire. sleep apnea innovation. learn more and view important safety information at inspiresleep.com being middle class right now, it's tough making ends meet for sure. republicans in congress say if we just cut taxes even more for the biggest corporations the money will eventually someday trickle trickle down to you. right. joe biden would rather just stop those corporations from charging so damn much. capping the cost of drugs like insulin. cracking down on surprise medical bills and all those crazy junk fees. there's more work to do. tell the president to keep lowering costs for middle class families. i'm sholeh, and i lost 75 pounds with golo. i went from a size 20 to a size 6. before golo, nothing seemed to work. i was exercising for over an hour every day. it was really discouraging. but golo's so easy, the weight just falls off. wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. and it's all right here. streaming was never this easy, you know. this is the way. you really went all out didn't you? um, it's called commitment. could you turn down the volume? here, you can try. get way more into what your into when you stream on the xfinity 10g network. we're getting new firsthand accounts right now from the wildfire disaster in hawaii. the governor telling me just a few moments ago that the death toll will climb higher than 36, at least into the 40s. joining us now, a resident of the hard-hit community of lahaina, pasco bay. he said it looked like it was raining fire on his town. thank you for joining us. we're showing the video that you shot of your escape. what was it like to fight through these fires? >> honestly, it was something out of a movie, you know. i've seen a lot of things in my day, i'm an air force veteran. i have done some deployments, but i've never experienceding in quite like it. it was as dark dark as night could be even though it was daytime. sometimes gusts could clear the mode, and the sun woo shine down. it was very surreal. the wind what so strong, it seemed like it was raining fire. embers were sitting anything it could ablaze. just like an end of day scenario. >> as you noticed, you're an air force veteran. did that experience help you navigate that? >> that experience 100% helped me. my instinct and training kicked in. for me, i felt calm. that's kind of the training you get in situations. they're life-threatening, you have to keep your school, do critical thinking, make shatter decisions. some would say i was make not the smartest gip, because i was one of the last people to leave front street, me and a co-worker, john monet. we tried to save as much as we could. we had garden hoses out, a fire hose out. we are trying to wet the ground, put out the small fires. honestly, i felt like i was in control until i didn't, and instinctively i knew it was time to evacuate. >> how with you doing now, bosco? >> i have a great community. we're reaching out making thursday everybody is safe, making sure nobody is lost. so at this point, um, we -- within our circle, we haven't any losses yet, but i'm hearing of some tragic, unable to communicate, unable to find people. when the power went out, it took the whole grid out. there was no access in any way for people to reach out and ask for help or communicate with their loved ones, so it was an unfortunate sit way. >> bosco, i know you said you eventually want to go back and seat what's left of the home and the art gallery where you worked. are you hopeful that they're still standing, or that they'll be rebuilt. >> i'm going to put it in god's hands. we did what we could to save what we could. i'm hearing rumors possibly the apartment building that was right behind the gallery is still standing, but you know, until i go and see it, it's one of those things i'm nothing good to count the chickens before they hatch. i am hopeful. either way, we'll rebuild, make do with whatever. front street has been a staple . it's not going anywhere. >> your governor just told me here in "the situation room" a few minutes ago that 80% of lahaina is destroyed. what goes through your mind, bosco, when you're trying to process that? >> well, the thing about lahaina, everything is close to each other, so it's one of those things that's unfortunate, but it was going to be inevitable. in one building burns, the next one to it will burn. we live on an island. we know hurricane season, things to be wary of, but we never thought it would get to this degree. the winds usually stop, but they seemed to be continuous and only getting stronger. everything happened so quickly, a lot of people had to evacuation and took nothing with them. i didn't even have a chance to go in my apartment and grab personal belongings. we are focused on trying to prevent -- that was a choice of mine, i stick with it, i don't regret it, but i hope i have some reminders of my life left, but if not, we'll pick up and move on. >> is there anything you would like to family or friends now? >> um, i've been able to get in touch with most of my family and friends, but anybody who is watching or listening, i'm safe. we're safe. everybody in my circle, you know, i'll take care of and make sure they're safe also. >> good luck to all of you and everyone out there in hawaii. we'll stay in close touch down the road. thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. i thank you for the coverage. of course. turning to politics, the republican presidentacy hopefuls are descending on the iowa state fair. at least four candidates have signed what's called the loyalty pledge required to participate even as the front-runner donald trump says he won't take the oath. >> i wouldn't sign the pledge. why would i do that? there are people there i wouldn't have. >> cnn's jeff zeleny is joining us. he has an update for us. which candidates have signed the pledge so far? >> reporter: wolf, we know four candidates have signed the pledge. one of whom is campaigning here, north dakota governor burgum, vivek and nikki haley have also signed this. an interesting exchange when former vice president mike pence was delivering a speech on the soapbox, it's called, sponsored by the des moines newspaper. one manner asked why pence committed treason on january 6th. this is what the former vice president said. >> there's almost no idea more un-american that the notion that one person can pick the american presidency. it belongs to the american people and the american people alone. people deserve to know that on that day, the former president asked me to choose him over my oath to the constitution. i chose the constitution, and i always will. >> reporter: wolf, at least in that crowd of people who turned out to see the former vice president, there was applause when he explained his actions, which of course were not treasonous at all. the former vice president is one of the many candidates campaigning here. the former president donald trump comes here on saturday, so a lot of activity among the republican candidates here. there's 158 days until the iowa ca caucuses. wolf? jeff zeleny, thank you very much. just ahead, a potential first step towards bringing five wrongfully detetarchd ained ame home from iran. we'll have the details when we come back. running this kitchen. 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(vo) make the switch. it's your business. it's your verizon. president biden visiting utah today one day after the fbi fatally shot a man while attempting to arrest him for allegedly making death threats against the president and other u.s. officials. brian todd is covering this story for us. brian, what are you learning about him? >> tonight we have disturbing new information from prosecutors about this man, not only regarding the threats he had made against the president but also similar threats against law enforcement. tonight law enforcement f officials are conducting a post-incident review of a deadly confrontation in utah, an fbi shooting response team launched from the agency's headquarters in washington to the scene, just hours before president biden's visit to utah, fbi agents approached a man named craig robertson at his home in the state. robertson, court documents say, had made violent threats against the president and other democratic politicians. a law enforcement source tells cnn when fbi s.w.a.t. agents gave commands to robertson he point ed a gun at them and was then shot and killed. in court documents prosecutors say in one social media post, robertson said, quote, i hear biden is coming to utah. digging out my old gilly suit, which is a camouflage suit for snipers and cleaning the dust off the m-24 sniper rifle. but if robertson was just spouting off and he hadn't acted on any threats, why go in with force? >> his comments about the president arriving in his area, preparing to take out his sniper rifle and engage in some sort of violence directed at the president of the united states. that is clearly beyond the pale. those are actionable threats and that's what brought the fbi to his door. >> reporter: documents say robertson had also made threats towards prosecutors who have brought cases against former president donald trump, like attorney general merrick garland, new york state attorney general, letitia james, and manhattan district attorney alvin bragg. in one post, prosecutors say robertson wrote that he wanted to, quote, stand over bragg and put a nice hole in his forehead with my 9 millimeters. >> how much is the political climate in the united states these days fueling all of this? >> no question, and it gets difficult for law enforcement threat investigators to determine what's a real serious posing of a threat, and what's a direct threat. >> reporter: investigators say in march fbi agents approached robertson at his house about a social media post. he refused to speak to them, documents saying. then afterward posted a message to the fbi saying, quote, you have no idea how close your agents came to bang. >> then he begins taunting the agents with multiple postings on social media telling them that he almost shot them that day. >> reporter: part of a threat environment that's getting more alarming. recently, the u.s. capitol police chief said threats against lawmakers had gone up more than 400% over the past six years. >> the rhetoric is rising. the direct threats are rising, and for them to screen and figure out which resources go to which cases is just going to be critically important for that information sharing. >> reporter: now, what concerns former secret service special agent matt dougherty about what lies ahead is the possibility that those who mean harm to top officials might switch targets realizing that someone like president biden has several layers of protection. they might then refocus their plots on those who have less protection like some judges or members of congress, and of course they have already been targeted. >> so disturbing. thank you very much. just ahead here in the situation room, a new report shedding additional light on u.s. supreme court justice clarence thomas's luxury lifestyle and the billionaire republican donors who have financed it. dude, what're you doing? i'm protecting my car. that's too much work. weatheech is so much easier... laser-measur floorliners up here, seat protector and cargoliner back there. nice! 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but quviviq helped me get more sleep. quviviq works differently than medication you may have taken in the past. it's thought to target one of the biological causes of insomnia: overactive wake signals. and when taken every night, studies showed that sleep continued to improve over time. do not take quviviq if you have narcolepsy. don't drink alcohol while taking quviviq or drive or operate heavy machinery until you feel fully alert. quviviq may cause temporary inability to move or talk or hallucinations while falling asleep or waking up. quviviq may cause sleepiness during the day. quviviq may lead to doing activities while not fully awake that you don't remember the next day, like walking, driving and making or eating food. worsening depression, including suicidal thoughts, may occur. most common side effects are headaches and sleepiness. it's quviviq. ask your doctor if it's right for you. a new report from propublica is revealing more details about the luxurious lifestyle of u.s. supreme court justice clarence thomas. cnn's tom foreman has more. >> reporter: the most complete accounting yet of the high life of supreme court justice clarence thomas shows much, much more than previously known. more private jets, more fancy vacations, more sporting events, all gifts from mega rich businessmen and documented through public and private records, plus interviews by prop propublica. >> justice thomas has been living a life of extreme luxury for 30 years underwritten by at least four different ultra wealthy ben factors. >> earlier reports have revealed lavish gifts to thomas, including a house for his mother and this nine-day vacation in indonesia from conservative billionaire harlan crow. >> i come from regular stock. >> reporter: who also underwrote a film about thomas's. >> the list of benefactors includes three more names. the report says the four moguls collectively treated thomas to 38 destination vacations, including a previously unreported voyage on a yacht around the bahamas. 26 private jet flights, plus an additional eight by helicopter. a dozen vip passes to professional and college sporting events. two stays at luxury resorts in florida and jamaica, and one standing invitation to an uber exclusive golf club. the dollar value, likely in the millions, little of which appeared in required financial disclosures according to propublica. thomas has previously said he didn't feel the need to disclose some gifts, and that worries jeremy fogle, an expert on judicial et skhics and a former judge. >> i simply couldn't have done this. and even if the people involved didn't have interests before the court, it's just the idea that you are receiving gifts of this magnitude. >> reporter: associate justices make about $285,000 a year. in 2001 when they made about 100,000 less, thomas spoke up. >> the job is not worth doing for what they pay. it is not worth doing for the grief, but it is worth doing for the principle. >> reporter: now he bristles at questions about his principles. he calls crow merely a friend. crow says they never talk about thomas's work and the new report found none of these wealthy pals seem to have had cases before the court. still -- >> which one of these new benefactors just like harlan crow came into his life after he was appointed to the supreme court, that's why it's so problematic. >> there's no indication that these wealthy friends broke any rules or laws with these extravagant gifts, or necessarily that the justice did in accepting them, but at a time when faith and confidence in the court has been cratering, wolf, it's not a good look. >> yeah, thank you very much. and to our viewers, thanks for watching. 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